Her strides were long, her movements fast. It was impressive, in a relative sense.

Impressive for a human.

She ran, passing others, pushing them down when they got in her way. She wasn’t being very quiet about her trying to escape.

“Get out of my way!” she yelled, her voice straining, wild. “Get, get the fuck out of my way!”

Watching her like this, struggling to make distance, knowing that it was futile…

It was cute.

I spun, changing directions. I dropped from the ledge, heading down.

I landed in the middle of the street, where Benny tried to cross. She stopped, dead in her tracks.

She stared at me, and she looked like she was seeing a ghost. Her eyes were wide, red, her face drained of all color. She was tense, so tense that the slightest bit of movement caused her whole body to jitter in fits. She tested a step forward, reconsidered, and tested a step back, reconsidering again.

Benny froze.

She knew. There was nowhere to go for her, nowhere to run. Try anything, and I’d simply find her again.

Sweat glistened off her cheeks. Her mouth was agape, lower lip trembling. Eyes focused straight ahead, at me. Tears streamed from the edges, mixing with the sweat.

There was no hope to be found in that expression.

Yes.

That face, that face.

That was exactly the kind of face I wanted to see from her. The kind of face I was dreaming of.

I wanted to see it up close.

Savoring every second of that image, I took my first step towards her. Then the second.

Benny didn’t move.

There she was, and here I was. Finally. I had her. She couldn’t hide from me, or slip away like before.

She had no one to rely on, no one to save her in the last second. It was just me, and it was just her.

It was everything I ever wanted.

I opened and closed my hands, an attempt to focus myself. My pace hastened the closer I got.

So close, so close.

I could taste it.

I was walking forward, then I wasn’t anymore.

A hit, and I was sent flying the opposite way.

The wind was knocked out of me, my throat seized and locked up. I couldn’t get anything in, or out. I couldn’t breathe.

Stunned.

I tried getting my bearings, but the scene started to change. The night sky was cut off, a white plane rushing over my field of view, yawning and stretching until every speck of black was gone, and shining my eyes with light.

The surface folded at a right angle, moving right in front my path.

The back of my neck hit the wall, and I heard something crack. I slid down, collapsed on the floor. My arms fell close to my sides.

Cold tile.

It’d be another thirty seconds before I could move my head, but I had a sinking feeling about where I was.

Against the tile were slow, steady steps. The situation was flipped. I was unable to move, and they were taking their time.

I saw legs come into my frame of view. Grey joggers, a blue jacket stopping right above the waist.

My stomach dropped.

They approached, until they were right at my feet. I only saw the legs, now.

They crouched, and I could their face. A blank face. The eyes were blacked out, the face cracked in places, like a broken doll. Head tilted, it studied me carefully.

Its lips didn’t move when it spoke.

“You think you can get rid of me that easy?”

Its voice was twisted and distorted, like it was being broadcasted through an old, busted radio.

I had my mask, but I smiled all the same, projecting an air of superiority.

I replied.

“It was easy, and I can do it again.”

“Is that what you think? Don’t be so foolish. Look around you. Everything you have, everything you are, it’s all mine. You’re merely a co-pilot, and you still need me to guide the way.”

“I don’t need you,” I said, but even I knew how false that was.

“Don’t make me laugh. You feel it too, don’t you? You’re incomplete, and you draw on me as a resource. You and I both know that grinds away at you, and gives me that much more purchase. A stronger foothold.”

I drew my arms closer beside me, slipping my fingers out of sight. I felt the warm sensation wrapping around my neck. I was healing, but I didn’t dare move. Not yet.

I was also taking the time to formulate an answer. Something it couldn’t punch a hole through.

“You don’t have anything to say? No rebuttal, a refusal of the facts? How-”

Its head snapped back, black ooze spraying from one eye socket. The knife stayed in place.

My hand moved as a blur, from my side to its eye. I brought my hands back down to help myself up.

That was my answer.

It fell onto one side, hands shaking as they hovered over the knife. Wanted to pull it out, but the pain that followed would be significant. It hesitated.

Benny was gone. Taken away from me once again. And once again, it was all its fault. Her.

I lifted a foot over its face, over its hands.

“Don’t be stupid,” I said. “Or, at least don’t blind yourself by your stupidity. I draw upon you to get a better sense of myself, and I know what I want, now. I’ll prove that I don’t need you, or any of your connections.”

I slammed my foot down, pushing her hands into the handle of the knife. The blade sinked deeper.

I spoke over the screaming.

“Don’t forget, you put yourself here, at the bottom. You wanted this. Stay where you belong, stay down.”

Above even the screaming, a larger, louder noise began to blare. Enough that it was tearing apart the classroom. The walls cracked, the ceiling falling into pieces-

I woke up in a frenzy.

I threw the covers away from my head, gasping for air. I blinked, and water dripped down the sides of my face.

I winced. Light was in my eyes, and an alarm sang in my ears.

Holy fuck, fuck, fuck that.

That was a nightmare, a dream, but it was so vivid. My heart was racing, and I was still in bed. I searched for something I could use to realign myself, bring my mind back to here, this room.

I struggled.

Nothing here was mine.

I changed position, pushing my head into the pillow. I had to will myself to calm down. My hand drifted to find the alarm, on the small table by the bed. I had to feel my way towards it, but I eventually pressed the button.

The silence that followed was somehow louder than the beeping alarm.

I stirred, tossing and turning, pulling the covers back over my head. I tried forcing myself back to sleep, but it was useless. I was awake.

But I elected to stay in bed for a while longer.

In trying to cool my head, I thought back to the night before. The early morning.

The meeting went on for another hour before it we wrapped it up, and we called it a night. Or rather, an early morning. I declined D’s offer to take me somewhere closer to home, for obvious reasons. I went off on my own, over a few streets and rooftops, and found a bus back, instead.

Mother… Shiori was fast asleep when I returned to the apartment, and she would be gone, should I check right now. She’d have to go to work.

And I had things to do, too, but ten more minutes in bed wouldn’t hurt.

I tossed and turned again, trying to feel where the coldest part of the bed was. Trying to find the most comfort.

It was such a fight, just to find comfort in sleep. A struggle. As if I was forced to put in effort to take it easy, to relax. My mind and thoughts were already way ahead of me, and I had to reign it back to the now.

Now, I couldn’t stop thinking about later tonight.

I was anxious in a way that electrified my body, screaming at me to get up and do something. A nervous energy that was begging to be burned. Not unlike my thirst, but this was asking for something else.

Action.

Torn between a want and a need. I wanted it to be night so I could go out and join the others, but I needed rest. I had to gather as much energy as possible, so I could be alert, aware, and awake, even in the later hours. The night that Alexis – Blank Face – was looking for Thomas… I wasn’t looking for a repeat of that, for myself.

I’ll succeed where she couldn’t. I have to. I have to.

I repeated the words in my head, like counting sheep, hoping to soothe my restless mind, and get an extra bit of sleep. It didn’t really help.

There were so many other factors to consider. So many ways this could go.

Anything could happen, tonight. A miscalculation here, a bad guess there. A minor slip-up early on that spirals into disaster. Simple bad luck. Should something happen, I had the ability to be flexible, but if too many cogs spun out of control, if too many things went wrong…

Would I be able to bounce back? Regroup, and try again? Maybe, but it’d be difficult, and it might even be too late, once I got my ducks in a row again. Benny might be gone.

It had to be tonight, and it had to be a success.

Yet, it all hinged on a motley crew of sorts.

I wondered how strong the truce really was, especially between D and Lawrence. There was a troubled history, there, and that meant friction, temporary ceasefire or no. Especially on Lawrence’s part. And I couldn’t say for sure whether or not that friction would eventually rub him the wrong way.

One of the reasons he even agreed to work together was so he could kill D if he saw fit. He practically jumped at the chance. I had to watch out for him.

And there was the girl herself. D.

She was an anomaly, I even told her that myself, but that still made her hard to pin down. Who was she, really, and how did someone like her end up in a situation like that? What did the letter ‘D’ even stand for? She stole Thomas’s van, dealt drugs to petty gangs, and when the deal went south, she was willing to risk everything to save herself.

I almost admired her tenacity.

But, she also agreed to help me. She even offered. Why?

Could she really be trusted? Could she really prove herself?

There was only one way to find out.

Tonight, it was her idea. She pitched it. We’d see if it worked out.

I flipped myself on my back, my arm over my eyes. Blocking the light.

A motley crew. A gang, a girl, and me, whoever that was.

But, in working towards the same goal, that should be enough to keep everyone in line. Probably. Hopefully.

Tossing, turning. I pulled the covers away from my head, and I gasped for open air again. Being so lost in my thoughts, I nearly forgot to breathe. Sweat lightly soaked the back of my shirt, sticking skin to fabric.

That nightmare was still fresh in my mind, and the anxiety of tonight was killing me.

I shifted one more time, pushing my eyelids open to stare at the ceiling. I could feel it in the muscles of my eyes and the aches in my body. I slept okay, but another hour or two wouldn’t hurt. I just couldn’t find it within me to get anymore rest. I was too agitated.

Fuck me.

Taking heavy breaths, I crawled out of bed. I left the room, trying to clear my throat.

Thirsty.

“Good morning.”

It took me a second, having to place the voice to a name, and realizing a voice was here in the first place.

It was Mother. Shiori.

She was in the kitchen, sitting at the table in the middle. She wore a silk, velvet bathrobe, a white towel wrapped over her hair. Her hands were around a mug, a finger tracing around the open lid.

“Morning,” I said back, confused. “What are you doing here?”

“Am I not allowed to be in my own home?”

“You know what I mean. Why aren’t you at work?”

This complicates things, you being here.

“Not going to work. Going to the church.”

“Again?”

“There’s still stuff to do, and I plan on helping.”

“What about work?”

Shiori spun her mug around, her fingers going around the handle. “My co-workers are coming with me.”

At least she was leaving the house. Not as complicated as I feared.

Satisfied, I continued into the kitchen, towards the cabinet. I started getting myself a glass of water.

“Do you want coffee?” Shiori asked.

“No,” I said. “Can’t have it.”

“I have coffee when I was your age. Not like everyday, but sometime.”

You mean ‘had coffee,’ and ‘sometimes?’ How long have you lived in this country?

I filled my glass with water from the refrigerator. I drew out a long gulp. Cold. Exactly what I needed.

I was about to leave, bring my glass with me, but Shiori stopped me again.

“Alexis.”

Oh come on.

I didn’t want to respond to that name, or play that role so early in my day. But Shiori was giving me no choice.

“Yes?”

“Your friends stopped by earlier.”

What friends?

“Who?”

“From the church, Justin and Emily.”

Oh, them. I had already forgotten about them. It didn’t feel like it was only yesterday. Felt like weeks ago, honestly.

“Okay?” I said.

“They invited you to go with them and watch movie, and eat lunch. But you were still sleep, but maybe you can meet them later.”

Trivial. Not interested.

“Sure,” I said. “Might be fun.”

I had to go out, grab a few things before tonight, but that wasn’t Shiori’s business. If she thought I was out with friends instead, I was fine with that.

“I’ll go get ready then,” I said, about to leave the kitchen.

“Stay right there.”

Tension coursed through me. I froze, wary.

Shiori got up from the table, and walked to me.

I recalled the dream I had earlier. In my hand was a glass of water. If I struck the counter beside me, I’d have something much sharper.

I halted that particular thought process.

I let Shiori approach.

She stopped at less than an arm’s length away, and looked deep into my eyes. Her gaze remained there.

It was disconcerting.

“Look,” Shiori said. “I’m taller than you again.”

“What?”

She had to tilt her head up to look at me.

“See?”

Shiori raised her hand over the towel bundled up over her head. She moved her hand, half a foot over the top of my head.

“I’m taller now.”

Was that supposed to be a joke?

I could feel my time being wasted away. I wanted out.

“That doesn’t count,” I said.

“I’m your mother, it counts.”

I made a face.

“Do you still have your watch?” Shiori asked, out of nowhere.

“What watch?”

Shiori made a face.

“The one I got you for your birthday, don’t tell me you lost it already.”

The watch. I had a vague recollection over what she was talking about. I tried not to press my mind towards getting a clearer picture.

“I didn’t lose it,” I said. “It’s around, somewhere.”

Shiori mumbled something in Japanese. The meaning was lost on me.

“Uh,” I said, finding an excuse to leave. “I’ve got to shower if I want to meet up with Justin and Emily. Gotta get going.”

Shiori’s eyes continued to peer into me, like she was searching for something. She blinked, looking away.

“I remember when you were so small. I had to keep reminding you, over and over, to stop tugging at my pants. You never wanted to leave my side.”

Somehow, that prompted a connection, and I couldn’t stop it. It hit me, harder than any truck or van could.

The memories, the relationship with this woman. I recognized point A, and saw point B for what it was. Now, her looking in my eyes actually meant something.

My heart was tugged one way.

Fuck, fuck.

“People change,” I said, voice wavering. “They grow up.”

Shiori, Mother, nodded. “But you didn’t have to grow up so fast.”

A piercing strike. I would have doubled over if I wasn’t already moving, heading back into my room.

I closed the door, harder than I intended.

Oh, shit.

I was breathing hard. I clutched my chest, and my heart was beating as if I had just spent the whole morning running.

This isn’t good, this isn’t good.

I wished Shiori had left by the time I got out of bed. It would have made this so much easier.

Between that, and the dream I just had, it only added pressure for tonight. No matter what, it absolutely had to be a success. Or I’d lose more than Benny.

I’d lose myself.

I placed the glass by the table at the bed, next to the alarm. I moved into the closet.

Opening my bag, I sorted through my costume. The red windbreaker, the dark joggers, the mask, no longer blank, painted over by my own efforts.

This isn’t good.

Nothing here was truly mine. It was borrowed, taken, repurposed. Sure, I picked out these clothes myself, modified them in my image, but it wouldn’t be enough. I couldn’t genuinely claim anything here.

And there was a certain danger, to that.

Being here, in this apartment, the memories and connections came in small but continuous intervals, like a being feed through an IV drip. Eventually, it would build, and my sense of self would be washed away.

We can’t have that.

I put down my stuff, hiding it for later. I got back to my feet, feeling very conscious over my body, aware of every inch of movement, and the seed of doubt, if I could claim this vessel as mine.

I’d have to, if I wanted to continue.

I started undressing, getting ready for a shower, tossing the pajamas into a corner of the closet.

Tonight was a step towards that affirmation I needed. I had to prepare for it.

That preparation involved getting some items for D. Stuff she apparently needed. Stuff like firecrackers.

—

The light gave way to night, and I never felt more centered.

This was it, right here. The moon, the handful of glimmering stars above, the countless lights below. Cars, buildings, streetlights. The business of it all. There was a pulse, a rhythm to how everything and everyone moved. A certainty.

And standing over it all, outside of that pulse, that certainty, that system. It was liberating.

My own pulse quickened as I continued to observe the city’s skyline.

Footsteps, coming from behind. Not one, but several. My eyes stayed on the city.

They stood at either side of me. To my left, Lawrence. To my right, D. Hleuco was in the skies, enjoying the open air.

Lucky.

Lawrence had a new set of bandages over his face. His expression was stern, making him look older than he was. He had on a denim jacket, a white turtleneck underneath. Denim pants, leather boots. If he was trying to go for a classic gangster look, it wasn’t a bad attempt.

D was dressed similarly from last night. An oversized biker jacket, a choker around her neck. She was wearing a skirt, but with striped tights, this time. If it was anyone else, it’d seem like they were playing dress up, but she sold her look pretty well.

I was in costume. Mask on, hood up, bag strapped around my back. Very aware of how none of it was mine. V’s.

“Everyone’s getting ready, and we’ll all be in position within the hour,” Lawrence said. “I like the uniforms, it’s a good touch.”

“Right on schedule,” I commented.

“We can move fast when we have to.”

“Good to hear,” I said, eyes down to the street below. Two vans and a car were parked in front of the Mexican restaurant. People were going back and forth from the restaurant’s entrance and the vehicles, loading boxes and other equipment.

“Speaking of,” D said, “Here.”

She poked my shoulder, and my eyes went from the street to her hand. She opened up her palm, revealing the earpiece in her palm.

“We each have one,” she said, tilting her head, pushing her hair over an ear. She was already wearing her own. “This should be good in keeping tabs with one another. But don’t talk too much, I don’t need to be updated on every second of your life.”

I nodded, and I took the earpiece. I fit it into my right ear, adjusting my hood once it was in place.

I pressed it, turning it on.

“And Lawrence will be communicating with his group, and relaying anything relevant back to us. That way, there aren’t a million voices in our heads.”

I would have commented, there, saying that it wasn’t that hard to parse through it all, but I didn’t.

I glanced in Lawrence’s direction, curious at how he was taking everything.

He was watching his crew below, his head down, some hair over his eyes. I only had a good view of one side of his face, but I could sense the general vibe. His lips were set in a line, his eyebrow slightly furrowed. As though he was holding onto some tension without realizing it.

“Second thoughts?” I asked.

There was a delay, and then he turned his head, noticing me. His eyebrows furrowed even more.

“Hell no, I don’t back down from nothing. Fuck that.”

Then I saw his expression change. It was slight.

“I want to know, is this something you expected to happen?”

“Expected what to happen?”

“This. With your whole ‘hero thing,’ picking a fight with almost every gang in the city, Solace, Benny, did you ever expect to be working with someone like me, and someone like her?”

He gestured towards D, then to the crew below.

“Did you ever expect to agree on a plan as insane as this?”

Lawrence to my left, D to right, Hleuco soaring in the skies above. I recalled what I thought about this lineup, earlier. A motley crew.

I didn’t look at Lawrence when I answered, “Did you?”

I heard a small noise, the brushing of denim when he folded his arms.

“Course not. I ask, because I was thinking to back before all this started, when I joined El Carruaje. Back then, I was just a dumb kid, chasing highs. I wanted the easy life, and a gang like that seemed like the way to go.”

Another small noise, this time coming from D. I caught her expression. Apologetic. Like she’d heard this story hundreds of times, and now I had to be subjected to it.

That was probably exactly it.

Lawrence continued. “Even just two years ago, El Carruaje was different. There were no schemes, no hidden plans, at least, not that I was aware of. It was just a bunch of kids selling drugs, and bunch of kids taking them. The parties, the access. It was all there, and it was all easy to consume.”

He lowered his head, looking down again.

“But then I met the rest of Benny’s crew. I saw the power they wielded, the command in their voices. They gave orders, and we listened. Suddenly, the weed and parties weren’t as exciting anymore. That was where the real high was. That power.”

“And that’s why you wanted to join Benny’s crew?” D asked, like she was reading from a script.

“That’s why. I wanted that for myself. To command, to give orders and have people listen.”

“Then, congratulations,” I said. “You finally got what you wanted.”

Lawrence didn’t move, but a sharp exhale escaped from his nose.

“Maybe, but now it’s a matter of defending that position, or proving myself to others. It’s never just the one thing, it’s everything that comes with it. All this time chasing highs, eventually the lows are going to hit you.”

I struggled to find the point in this, why he was giving me his life story. There was a reason why I came up here by myself.

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “Are you trying to talk yourself out of it?”

Lawrence scoffed. “Hell no, I’m in this all the way. I’ll do what I have to. I’m just saying, it’s funny how things fall into place sometimes. Tell me two years ago that I’d be here, in this position, I’d call you crazy.”

The word repeated itself in my head. Crazy. That was one way to put it. Maybe it was even funny, when looking at it from another angle. Life was unpredictable, and it had a way of dealing out bad hands. It was why people hated being asked where they saw themselves in five years. Impossible to answer, and a good answer just meant satisfying whoever asked.

No one truly has a way of knowing. Was Alexis able to predict this?

No, she wouldn’t.

And all the better for it.

Some time passed, with no one adding anything else to say. Lawrence stepped back from the roof’s edge.

“I’ll be heading out now,” he said. “Shouldn’t be too long before we’re all in order. I’ll give the signal, and I’ll concede the play to you. It’s your call.”

“Watch yourself,” he said, but he took his leave, and I went back to looking over the city.

They seem to be getting along, if I can call it that. Could be worse, though.

“Don’t mind him,” D said, as Lawrence was heading back down, unable to hear her. “He’s just psyching himself up.”

Couldn’t fault him for that. This was a big move, a power move, and that meant risks.

Even pawns can be nervous.

“What about you?” I asked. “Anything you want to say?”

D lifted her shoulders.

“Um, not really. I said that I was going to help you, and I intend to do exactly that. I’m excited.”

“You even got the stuff I asked for,” she added.

“Is this like your version of putting a magnifying glass to an anthill?”

D snapped her fingers. “Yeah! That’s a great way to put it!”

Her enthusiasm over what was to come forced a laugh out of me.

“You’re like the funhouse mirror version of youth,” I said.

“Matter of perspective. Everything distorts when you put it through a looking-glass.”

I chuckled. Funny, that I felt more like myself, here, even when among complete strangers.

Hleuco flew overhead, and I saw the moon. I moved my wrist, checking the time.

“You should get going,” I said. “It’s almost time.”

“Sure,” D said, and she backed away from the edge. “Keep an ear out. L-Boy will give you his confirmation, and so will I. After that, we’ll be waiting on you to give us the go-ahead.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

“Now we’re talking, I’ll catch you later.”

D left, going back the way she came. Her footsteps weren’t paced at a steady rhythm, one foot following the other. There was a beat to it. She skipped her way to the exit.

She was so calm. How? Even if it was her idea, it wasn’t unnatural to harbor concerns. Yet she seemed cool, calm, and more collected than any of us.

An anomaly for sure.

I, in contrast, was restless. Itching to go, ready for action. I was centered, and I was prepared to push that energy outward. I was alert, aware, and awake.

A good sleep had done me some good.

I stayed still, unmoving from my spot on the roof, watching the city. I saw Lawrence’s crew finishing up their work, getting into their vehicles. They started up, and drove off. The vans went one way, the car went another.

For the remaining time I was waiting, Hleuco swooped low, landing by my side.

He’d been quiet lately, I noticed. I wondered if that meant anything.

In wait, observing the buildings and the farther skyline, Stephenville took on other qualities. Cars drove by, not rushing to go anywhere. People walked, usually by themselves, hurrying to get indoors. There was activity, but it wasn’t busy. It was akin to a slumbering giant.

Imagine poking that giant with a hot spike.

Before my thoughts wandered even more, a voice buzzed in my ear. Mechanical.

“This is Lawrence, everyone’s in position. Ready to go.”

I didn’t answer right away. I kept waiting.

Another minute came and went before I heard anything from D.

“Sorry, sorry I’m late! Had to check up on some last minute things. But I’m good now, ready to go.”

Two confirmations. One remained.

There was certain pressure, having the final word, knowing that there was no going back once that word was uttered. But, I was ready to make that move. I wasn’t lying when I said it.

This is it. This is my move. The hand I’ll play, to use another metaphor.

The pawns were in place, the bishop already in position. It made me wonder where I was on the board.

If I may be so bold, I would liken you to the queen.

Queen. I wasn’t sure I liked that label. Compared to the king, the most vital piece, the queen could be disposed of. It could be sacrificed.

But, it did fit, in another sense. The queen wasn’t bound by the same rules as the other pieces. Pawns could only move forward, one at a time. Bishops, though less limited, could only move in a specific fashion.

Queens, however, had the least limitations. The most important piece, second only to the king. They could move. Forward, backward, sideways, diagonally. They had power, and they had freedom.

I inhaled, deep, and exhaled just as strong.

“Ready to go,” I said, firm. “Payback time.”

My heart started beating faster. I was waiting for a response.

And then, the response came. Not from Lawrence or D. It wasn’t verbal.

The response was heard, felt, then seen.

I heard the booming, I felt the soft rumble, I saw the smoke.

This was why I was so fixated on the skyline. I wanted to see the before, and the after.

Plumes of smoke rose from various points, blending into the night sky. Flickers of orange and red flared, gnawing to take a piece out of the oppressive black. Sirens sang, and people screamed. The pulse of the city quickened, the beast startling awake.

This was my play.

D had suggested smoking Benny out. But how would we accomplish such a feat?

Everyone reacted in some way. Tilted heads, steps taken back, even D moved from behind to better face me, her curiosity piqued.

Hleuco, standing at my side, stood even straighter. Taller. His head just barely grazed the ceiling.

Lawrence stammered.

“Help? How? Why?”

I tried answering each three one-word questions, all at once. “I’ll need all the help I can get, and you need all the help you can get. It’s why I’m standing here, with her.” I gestured to D.

I continued. “You have my powers, and I have your numbers. And together, we all stand to benefit if we can get to Benny first.”

“That sounds ridiculous,” Lawrence said, “Why should I even trust you? And who even are you?”

“All of you can trust me,” I said, stressing to point each of them out. “I saved your life, when I didn’t have to. And even outside of that, it’s not even about trust. It’s about the benefits far outweighing the idea to breach an alliance. Also, I wear a mask, I stopped a van with my bare hands twice in one night. Use your brain, and don’t ask useless questions.”

I saw the crease in his forehead forming, thinking. Then, he stared at me, eyes wide.

“You…” he said, but he became speechless. He mouthed the rest, and turned away.

I turned to the rest of the Ghosts.

“The offer is there. Help me get Benny, and in doing so, I’ll help your group get a better standing with the others. The only caveat is that I get to be the one to tear her head off. You can take it from there, and cash it in for whatever it’s worth.”

“What about after?”

Another Ghost asked. Sounded like a girl.

“After? That’s it,” I said. “We go our separate ways, doing our own thing. No tricks or loopholes about it. No fingers crossed. I’ll leave you alone, and I hope you’d do the same for me.”

They all took that in their own way, some huddling together to discuss it. Not even discussing with Lawrence, their leader.

Lawrence nudged the guy helping him, and the guy let go, leaving Lawrence to stand on his own. He watched his gang work without him.

He was visibly shaking.

“Hey!” he shouted, and then another thing in Spanish. The meaning was lost on me, but the intention was not.

“You’re all actually considering this? Working with that?”

He thrusted a finger at me.

“And her!”

His finger moved to D.

“We don’t know them, they aren’t part of the family. Fuck, look at them, do they look like they can be trusted? One of them wears a mask, and the other is that fucking heartless bitch, who just tried to kill me!”

D interjected. “Because you tried to get the jump on me!”

I shook my head. “Try to see the bigger picture, Lawrence. We work together, and everyone gets what they want. There’s no incentive for me to double cross you, or anyone here. Benny is the only one I’m after, and coming to a gang made up of those she abandoned for assistance, that’s a good start.”

Watching the other Ghosts was a good way of assessing the general atmosphere of the situation. Their postures tightened, tensed up. Those who got together to talk broke away from each other to face me.

All had firm hold on their weapons.

I had given them everything but my name, as far as my old identity was concerned, but it didn’t click for them until Lawrence had to verbalize it, out loud. Showed the power in names, I supposed.

Hleuco was standing straight, and I tried to match him. No cracks in my stance, my posture. I couldn’t appear fazed.

“I was,” I admitted. “I was the Bluemoon.”

The Ghosts collectively bristled. They did not look thrilled.

I opened my mouth again. “But I’m not-”

Lawrence spoke over me.

“It was you,” he said. “Few months ago, in this same place. Some freak in a blue hoodie attacked while I… was trying to get shit done. In the end, I couldn’t get that shit done, but as it turned out, it didn’t matter. Because, what do I see the next day, on the news? The same freak in a blue hoodie, and fucking Benny. El Carruaje didn’t last very long after that.”

It wasn’t me… but semantics, I suppose.

The situation was degrading with every word that came out of his mouth. The truce standing on shakier and shakier ground, now, and it was faltering.

“Instead of Benny,” Lawrence said, “How about we turn in your head as a prize, you blue piece of shit?”

I kept my voice level. “You don’t know if there even is one.”

He shrugged. “I’m sure people would pay big bucks to get their hands on someone like you. Definitely more than a fifth of what we’d get from Benny. Enough that we all can be comfortable. Doesn’t that sound nice, no?”

He was appealing to his gang for that last part, and they were eating it up. Scraps weren’t enough, and they were hungry. I had seen it in their eyes, and in their dogs, too. It was why I tried to appeal to them, myself. If I could direct that anger, it could have been the edge I needed to turn things around.

As it turned out, that hunger could easily be directed to me.

Like a double-edge sword.

A few of Lawrence’s crew approached, testing with small steps. Their guns raised just a little higher than before.

Shit.

Hleuco bent down, wings extended. One went around my shoulder, as though to shield me.

This was going south, fast, and we were surrounded.

Could I make an escape? Yes, and it’d even be easy. I had healed enough that running wasn’t difficult, I’d move if I had to. D mentioned that the next building over was two level below this one. That was a drop I could make.

Now, if they fired…

Tricky, but manageable. There was always a chance of a stray bullet hitting me, or someone getting in a lucky shot, but I’d ultimately get out alright. I doubted that they could trip me up, but I’d been wrong before. Blindsided.

What about D?

D, right. That made things complicated. Was I even responsible for her? Considering I already saved her life once, and just minutes ago at that, it would be hypocritical to leave her behind now.

By myself, I could escape just fine. With D? It was safe to assume that she couldn’t heal like me. She was vulnerable, susceptible to actual, lasting injury. She was human.

Eyes on the Ghosts, I moved my arm, trying to find D at my side, in case I had to grab her and run. I spent too long touching nothing before I realized that no one was there.

Where is she?

I would have moved more, turned my head to locate her, but anything could set these guys off further.

Think of what else we can say to–

“Bang!”

A sound, but nothing mechanical. Not nearly as loud.

A voice.

We turned all the same.

It was D, standing away from me and the Ghosts.

She had struck a pose. Standing on her toes, one arm pointing to the ceiling. Holding a gun.

“Bang bang bang!”

She was shouting, imitating the act of firing a gun into the air. But she wasn’t actually firing.

There was a pause that followed. No one was sure what she was doing, or what to do next. I wasn’t even sure.

We all watched D.

The pause stretched for a while longer, then D set her arm down, gun to her side. She coughed a few times.

“Alright,” she said, loud, for everyone to hear. “Now that I have your attention. I just want to say that you’re all being big dummies!”

It was like watching a sitcom with the laugh track missing. A momentary pause after a line, but with nothing to fill it. Dead air.

No one had a response.

D spoke again, picking up where she left off. “Do you people really think you have a chance on taking her out? Or even capturing her? Look!”

With her free hand, she pointed. A few, including Lawrence turned to look.

“See that pillar? She destroyed that thing with just one hand. Imagine what she could do to your face! And didn’t you see how fast she can move? You slowpokes can’t touch her. She’s gone in a blink, and now you have a super strong, super fast vigilante who is super mad. What’s to stop her from coming back and picking you off, one by one?”

“That’s something I could do, should you cross that line. I don’t want to, though.”

“Is that a threat?” Lawrence questioned.

Annoying. How fucking dense was this guy?

“It’s not a threat,” I said, having to spell it out for him. “But I can promise you that it’s a line we don’t want crossed. If that happens, both sides lose out on a lot, and nobody gets what they want.”

I kept it vague, on what exactly both sides would lose out on. I’d let them use their imagination on that.

Lawrence’s hard stare remained. He wasn’t satisfied.

I spoke. “Listen. Yes, I was the Bluemoon, and I’ve went after gangs like yours, The Chariot. I’m probably the reason why the Ghosts came to be, and why you’re in the position you are now. Sure, blame it all on me.”

“I think I will,” Lawrence said.

I spread my arms. “But I’ve put that behind me, now. The Bluemoon’s dead, I’ve retired that name. I’m looking to start things anew, and I truly think getting Benny is the first step. And to do that, I could use your help, and I think you could use mine, too. Because, we both know the Ghosts won’t last, and making me your enemy puts you on a fast track to actually being gone. And I doubt you that’s what you want.”

I would have made some kind of ‘ghost’ joke at the end, there, but it didn’t feel appropriate.

Before, the feelings of everyone here were easily known, and easily directed. Now? They were mixed, and each one of the Ghosts looked like they were at a loss of what to do. D’s distraction seemed to have set the tension back a bit.

Lawrence, for his part, was harder to gauge. His jaw was set, square, looking between me, D, and his gang. Would he try and convince his gang to fight me, again? Or would he finally come around?

He turned my way.

“Does she come included with your deal?” he asked, tilting his head one way. I didn’t need to look to know that he was referring to D.

I answered.

“We have our own arrangement, and that will continue into this one. She has to prove her usefulness, up until she can’t, and then I kill her.”

“It’s true,” D said, piping in.

Lawrence rubbed his chin, and scratched the back of his head. He looked at the members of his gang, and they looked back at him.

A sort of silent discussion.

After a time, Lawrence had something to say.

“Okay,” he said, facing me.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll agree to work with you, only if you let me into that deal, too.”

“Meaning?” I asked.

“I’m willing to give her one more shot. One. If she fucks it up, by messing with me or my crew again, I get to kill her myself.”

I turned to D. She shrugged.

“Eh, whatever,” she said. “I promise I’ll be good.”

She really is a strange one.

I turned to Lawrence. “Satisfied?”

He took his time in responding.

“I am,” he finally said.

He extended a hand.

“Do we have a deal?” he asked, his expression pained. For him, this had to be a hard pill to swallow.

Slow, I walked to him, aware of the Ghosts, their weapons, and their dogs.

“We do,” I said, bringing up my hand to-

“If you’re not the Bluemoon, then who are you?”

Another voice, but I heard it earlier. A woman. I pointed her out from the crowd.

“What do we call you?” she asked.

Put on the spot, with no answer prepared. My time and energy were being spent on something else. I had put it off for later.

But that wouldn’t fly, not with these people. Had to come up with something.

And there is a certain power in names.

I glanced at D. She was looking back at me, standing more relaxed, now. Her arms were at her side, her hands free. She was waiting for my answer, too.

Well, in the spirit of present company…

“V,” I said. “You can call me ‘V.’”

I could see Lawrence almost roll his eyes. But he took my hand, shaking it.

“Deal,” he said.

“Deal, I repeated.

“Sweet!” D cheered, from the back.

A wave of relief came over everyone, it seemed like. Everyone was settling down, even the dogs were starting to sit, or rest on their stomachs. People were even putting their guns away.

“Now that we have that squared away,” Lawrence said, crossing his arms, “What’s next?”

“We plan,” I replied. “We need to get everything straightened out, and figure out what our next official move should be.”

Lawrence nodded. “We’ll have to relocate, though, can’t stay up here forever. We have a base over in Eastside. It’s not much, but everything’s there.”

“Good!” D ran to us, joining in the conversation. “We’ll need everything. You Ghosts came from the rib of The Chariot, so I’m gonna have to pick your brains to see if I can’t finangle a lead from it.”

Lawrence definitely rolled his eyes that time. “Yeah, fine, yeah, do what you need to. You know how to get there, don’t you?”

D smiled her wide smile. “Of course I do. Speaking of, as part of our deal, the van’s all yours, free of charge. The whole thing, bears and all.”

“Thanks,” he said, though he didn’t sound thankful. “Wait, you’re not driving it back?”

She gestured to me. “She kinda broke the windshield. I’m not going to be able to drive it without getting some looks.”

“Unwanted looks,” she added, as if she was correcting herself.

“How are you getting there?” Lawrence asked.

D smiled again. “I have my pick.”

I could sense that Lawrence was already losing his patience with her. He backed up, and addressed his gang.

“We’re rolling out, back to base! Ándele!”

They all went into motion, gathering into small parties, then moving to their own vans, bringing the dogs with them. They were quick, too, already ready to leave before any of us three could say anything else.

Lawrence turned to us again.

“Meet you there,” he said, and he left, meeting with the man who was helping him up from before. We took that as our signal to leave, too.

With Hleuco following, D and I walked as a group.

“So, V?” D asked.

I rubbed the fingers of one hand together, feeling where the glove was torn.

“Better than ‘The Bluemoon.’ And at least it’s a name I picked for myself.”

“Hey,” I said, “Is that why you brought me here, to see the Ghosts? You knew they had ties to The Chariot.”

“Um, kinda? I was just going to ask them if they knew anything, or had a lead. I didn’t expect Lawrence to cheat me, and I for sure didn’t expect you to recruit them.”

“Things happen,” I replied. “Do you think it was a good call?”

D brushed her lip with her finger. “Dunno, too early to tell. Nothing wrong with some extra hands, I guess.”

I grinned, and waited until we were out of earshot.

“Exactly,” I said. “You don’t win games with just a bishop. You need pawns, too.”

D found that funny, laughing loud and hard.

We continued walking, going down the garage, taking the stairs when we found them. We got to the first level, and I let D take the lead. She approached a dark red minivan. Mini, but it seemed larger than the last one.

“Give me a second,” D said. “Usually this goes by faster when you have the key.”

She got on her toes, and peered through the window. Her breath fogged up the glass.

Watching D, and taking the little moment of downtime to let her work brought my attention back to my thirst. My throat was dry, and I could feel myself on the edge of something worse. My arms twitched one way, as if itching to grab something, and keep it still. My legs were burning, and it wasn’t from earlier. It was as though I was filled with energy I needed to use, or I’d end up burning from the inside, out.

You need blood.

I needed to get this sorted out soon, preferably before we met up with the Ghosts again.

“D,” I said.

“Hmm?” she answered, her attention still on the window.

“Earlier, when you were asking about my powers? There’s more to it than that.”

—

The base was simple. Smaller than I expected. Or maybe my expectations were too high.

We were in a Mexican restaurant, all the way back into the kitchen. Everything was metallic and reflexive, making the already harsh lighting even brighter. It was chilly, being closer to the big freezers and coolers, but I had a jacket on. Nothing was being cooked or simmered, but the place was imbued with a strong, spicy smell.

The restaurant was the first floor of a five-floor building, and the Ghost’s base of operations extended to the rest of the place, but Lawrence saw it fit to hold the meeting here. This was all they had, supposedly. But, there was enough space for everyone, even when it became standing room only.

Everyone, except for Hleuco.

Multiple, mismatched tables were put together, so the important players could have a seat, and some elbow room. Me, D, Lawrence, and two of his officers. Charlie, a girl in her mid-twenties, and Jonathan, and a man a few years older. Both had long, dark hair, and serious expressions.

In the middle of the table, were everyone’s guns. Including D’s. And my knife. A sign of faith.

Six chairs were laid out, but five were filled. A chair was empty.

“Where’s Melissa?” Lawrence asked. He was turned in his seat, facing one of his men who weren’t at the table.

D and I exchanged looks.

“She’s supposed to be here,” the man said, unsure.

“I know she’s supposed to be here, that’s why I’m asking.”

“Last time I saw her, she was on her way inside. Lost her in the shuffle.”

“Dammit, we need to start-”

D smacked her hands on the table, directing everyone’s attention to her.

Lawrence shot her a look, squinting. “Ha ha. Fine, let’s get started. I can catch her up later-”

“Wait.”

Jonathan raised his hand, and pointed to me.

“I’d feel more comfortable about this if she didn’t have her mask on.”

I breathed, and a faint, sweet smell escaped my lips.

“I set my knife down, it’s the equivalent of you setting down your gun. Believe me.”

“But-”

“It’s fine, Jonathan,” Lawrence said, interrupting. “We don’t need any more problems at this juncture. What we need is her, V, not the person behind the mask. It can stay on.”

Resigned, Jonathan sat back in his seat.

I nodded to Lawrence, a silent form of appreciation.

“Now, let’s get started?” I suggested.

Looks from across the table. No objections.

“Good. Let’s go over the basic terms, real quick. This is a temporary partnership between me and D, and you, the Ghosts. As requested by Lawrence, I am to establish that not one person here gets to lead the others. We discuss best course of action, and we go from there. Also, this alliance is to be held with utmost secrecy. No other rival gang or competitor must know of what we’re doing, or what we have planned. We lose any leverage we have, if that happens.”

More looks from across the table. No objections.

“Good, then let’s continue. The end goal is capturing Benny. And she should be alive, when we get our hands on her. What happens after, is another story.”

I exhaled.

“The problem is, she’s damn good at keeping herself out of my reach. So I’m hoping, since the Ghosts came from El Carruaje, that you have something or anything I can use to… extend that reach, as it were.”

Again, I exhaled. It hit me how long I had been after this woman. How long Alexis had been after this woman. There was seemingly no end to this fucking chase.

Soon, soon.

Voices reassured me.

I took a second to recompose myself.

“So let’s get right to it,” D said, talking in my stead. “What do y’all got? L… Lawrence, if I remember correctly, you weren’t one of the top brass of El Carruaje, but you were trying.”

Lawrence made a twisted expression, barely restrained.

“Yes, you’re right, I wanted to be one of the big guns, part of the crew she kept close to her. And when I heard about what Benny was planning, with the weapons, I thought that was my in. If I could get everyone on board, and show her we were up for the task, she’d let me lead.”

He looked over to me.

“That all went to shit, though. But anyway, after the family fell apart, everyone scrambled to pick up the pieces. Neighboring gangs like the Rattlesnakes took some turf, and some new groups cropped up, like us.”

Lawrence motioned with his hand, as if showing off the back of this kitchen.

“This is the only scrap of El Carruaje we got,” he said. “And to finally get around to your question, I don’t got nothing on Benny. If she’s still here, then she could be anywhere. Maybe she’s hiding out in some of her old bases, but that would mean that another gang is housing her. Competition.”

“And you don’t think anyone in Eastside would be willing to hide her?” D asked.

“I said ‘maybe.’ There might be someone out there loyal enough to want to help her, but with real dough on the table, they’re more likely going to grab it for themselves. If I’m any indication…”

D tapped her fingers on the table. “Tell me where those bases are. I can check, just to be sure.”

She then winked. “I can be pretty sneaky.”

“Will do,” Lawrence said, flat.

“Neat,” D said. “That’s one possible avenue, but we need something more… well, more. How about Benny’s crew, anyone you can contact?”

“I wish. Guys like Samuel, or Roland, you don’t go to them, they come to you, whenever they, or Benny, needed something. It was a top-down sort of deal, the channels went one way, and you had to force your way to the top if you wanted your voice heard.”

I put myself back into the conversation.

“We have to assume that she has her crew,” I said, remembering the events at the school. “Not if, but when we find her, we might have to go through them, first.”

“Meaning we’ll be going to war,” Lawrence commented.

“Not if we can help it,” I said. “That’s why we’re having this discussion. Hash it out, see if we can’t find a way to strike them from behind, when they aren’t expecting it.”

“Okay,” D said. “So her crew’s gonna be a problem, but if we can get a hold of one of them, we get a hold on Benny. Anything else? How about the police? I’m sure if we ask politely, they might know something.”

“That was my original idea, before I ran into you.” I briefly turned towards D. “Not all of them are clean, if any, and if they’re on the lookout for her, then it’ll help to keep an eye on their movements. Gomez himself, though? He’s not going to play ball.”

D groaned. “Aw, what a lame-o.”

“But, considering other avenues, the police might not be a bad option. Which was why the police scanners were so crucial.”

In that last word, I directed a smidge of irritation towards D. She noticed, and made a heart symbol with her hands, pointing it to me.

I can see how Lawrence got to the point of wanting to kill you.

“And,” I said, “Like Benny, some of them were a part of the Solace conspiracy.”

It was as though I told the room that God wasn’t real. No one, here in the kitchen, could keep themselves completely still. Murmurs broke out between those standing around, Charlie and Jonathan whispered to each other, and D lifted her eyebrows, exaggerating the motion.

And Lawrence reeled.

“Solace,” he said. “Fucking Solace? The guy that fucked the city sideways to get to you?”

He jabbed a finger my way.

“Not one guy,” I said, calm, “But yes. Solace wasn’t a single person, but a collaborative effort. The police, Benny, and I think Styx was involved, too.”

“Shit, how deep does that go?” Lawrence asked.

“I don’t know, but I almost want to say that it doesn’t matter. After the bombing at city hall, Solace hasn’t made a move since. Again, I don’t know why, but we can use that. We’re looking for Benny, but the other pieces that made up Solace are still around.”

“Are you saying we go after Styx?” Lawrence questioned. “You do know that picking a fight with him means picking a fight with everyone.”

“He’s right,” D said. “That’s a beehive you don’t poke. It stings.”

I spoke. “Believe me, I know.”

Or, at least Alexis knew.

“I vote to not go after the crazy fuck with the motorcycle,” Lawrence said. “Especially since the Ghosts need a working relationship with him after this is over.”

We were talking, hoping to go somewhere, but all we managed were circles. Round and round. An idea brought up, and then the reasons why it wasn’t a good idea. We were moving, but we weren’t going anywhere.

This wouldn’t do. I had to break this loop, somehow. Something I could come up with, that could let us progress. Move forward.

Styx. Gomez. The warehouse.

“If not people,” I said, “How about places. There was a warehouse that housed some of those weapons that Benny had smuggled in. And it was here, in East Stephenville.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Charlie said.

“The whole stockpile wasn’t stored in one place. When Solace was active, that warehouse didn’t even account for a half of what they had. Tell me, Lawrence, the neighboring gangs, have you noticed them carrying anything different, as far as firearms go? Anything that packs more of a punch than what you usually see on the street?”

“Can’t say that I have,” Lawrence said.

“Meaning those weapons are still in storage,” I said. “When Benny attacked the school, she used heavy-duty stuff. Bombs, that could be used remotely. That’s not stuff you see everyday.”

“You think she still has access to those weapons,” Lawrence.

“That’s what I’m guessing. We find where she has the rest stashed… you can fill in the gap.”

“Do you have a lead on that?”

I grimaced, though I had my mask. “I don’t.”

“Great, another dead end. I’m starting to think this isn’t going to work.”

Dammit. Dammit.

There had to be something I could use, something that could work. I got some decent momentum, with getting the Ghosts to agree to this, but it wouldn’t mean anything if I let it stop dead in its tracks, here.

I caught a sight of the sixth chair. Previously empty. A vestige had taken a seat. A blank face, wearing blue.

Without being conscious of it, I was tapping into more connections.

Dammit.

“Edgar Brown, Linda Day, Officer Jeffery and Officer… Sumeet, I think his name was? They all either had something to do with Solace, or they were in the loop, in some capacity. How about that?”

“Maybe,” D said. “Brown and Day are locked up pretty tight now, though. Read up on that on my tablet. Officer Jeffery could be anyone… but Sumeet is a unique name. Definitely narrows it down.”

I saw the vestige again, and I felt a pressure in my head. Not on, in.

I wish Hleuco was here.

“Last time I saw Sumeet, he had just fallen a handful of stories. A lot of broken bones, I bet he’s still trying to recover.”

“So he’s stuck in one spot, then,” D said. “That’s usable. If he’s in a hospital, I can find him. I know how to get those records.”

“You do?” I asked.

“That’s why I’m here,” D said, grinning.

“That’s something,” Lawrence said. “But it’s not a guarantee.”

Charlie and Jonathan muttered, seemingly in agreement.

“No, it’s not,” I said.

I shifted in my seat, bringing my arms close, raising them so I could massage my head. Relying on her memories and connections was dangerous, but I was running out of options, here.

Running, yet going nowhere.

Why was finding one person so damn difficult?

Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong.

“Ah, we seem to be stuck,” D said. She was mimicking me, with her arms on the table, hands raised, but her fingers were intertwined, in front of her mouth. “We can’t seem to come up with a way to find her. It’s definitely frustrating.”

“You read my mind,” I said.

I didn’t see her teeth, but I saw her cheeks move. She was smiling.

“All the pieces are there, but individually, they pose problems. Benny, the police, Styx, the weapons. But, together, I think I can come with something workable, maybe even fun.”

“What are you proposing?” I asked.

She tried to hide behind her hands, but I saw it. D was smirking.

“Instead of trying to find her,” D said, “We do the opposite. We smoke her out.”

“I thought we were heading to one of your ‘jobs,’” I said, tossing the brick back as she approached. “Shouldn’t you be taking this more seriously?”

D had to jump to catch it, or the brick would have flown over her head.

“Oof,” she said, as she got it secured. “And relax, we’ve got time.”

Her reply was dismissive in tone. Something I’d have to get accustomed to.

She passed Hleuco as she approached, who had been waiting outside the whole time. He moved in step with her, eyeing her closely, a very curious creature. But D had no idea.

“And it’s better to be on time than be early,” D added.

“And why’s that?”

“So you’re not a sitting duck, and people won’t get the jump on you.”

“You don’t seem to have much trust in the people you workwith,” I said.

“That’s just the nature of the game,” D said, smiling. “You always have to watch your back, no matter who you’re playing with.”

Was I supposed to take that as a joke, or a warning? It was hard to tell, coming from her. Everything she said or did seemed like something I wasn’t in on, or I had to look at it a different way to catch the true meaning. Maybe that was just in her nature, to playfully jest. Maybe she was playing me.

But, she had her use, and I needed someone useful.

“Message… received,” I said, as D met me at the van. We were right outside the forsaken apartment complex, in a parking lot that was home to more vehicles that didn’t work than did. I was standing outside with my mask on, but it was too dark for anyone to notice, and even if anyone did notice, would they even be able to connect the dots? I wasn’t dressed as the Bluemoon. To them, I was just any random masked weirdo.

D pouted, but it felt off. Rehearsed. As if she knew she was a kid, and was using that to play up the act even more. It was eerie.

“That’s different,” she said. “I was trying to run away, but now that you have me I wanna see it up close. Now come on, crush it in your hand!”

I brought my hand, and the brick, up again. I stared at it for almost a minute.

There was nothing to gain from crushing a cement brick with a single hand. Could I, even? Probably, but what would that prove? I’d just be doing this to entertain a little girl. Magic tricks, as she so aptly put it.

But, damn me. She had the keys. She knew how to drive.

As if I need another reminder.

And we apparently were early. Nothing else to do.

I put the brick back in front of D’s face. She gave me some space.

I wrapped my fingers around the brick.

Without much effort, my thoughts went to Benny. To the world.

I channeled that energy, through every individual digit. It coursed.

Then, I applied the necessary pressure.

Cracks through cement. Whole, then fractured. I felt the brick begin to crumble in my hand.

“No recording anything,” I said, patting my gloves together. “Now, are we done, or do you want me to crush that, too?”

I quickly pointed to the white, tightly packaged block in her hands.

D pulled it closer to her chest, slipping into her jacket. “No way, I actually need this one.”

When she moved her hand out of the jacket, she was holding a ring of keys.

“Alright, that’s enough playing around, for now. Hop in.”

She moved to the other side of the van, unlocking it from there. We got inside, both of us having to move teddy bears in order to find our seats.

After we settled, D worked to put the key into the ignition, turning it. The van activated, but only after some fits and starts. It soon got to a low, even rumble, and D stepped on the gas.

Or, more accurately, she stood on it.

I watched D as she drove the van. I couldn’t help myself. I was as curious as I was concerned we might hit something.

As I expected, she wasn’t tall enough to see over the wheel if she were to take a seat. She had to stand, placing herself between the seat and the wheel, with the seat adjusted farther back to provide her some room to move around. She was buckled in, but the strap that was supposed to go across her chest was tucked back and away, leaving only the waistband part that hugged her stomach. As an added measure, she had a stack of phone books propped up behind her.

I observed her every time she shifted her weight from each foot, moving from gas to break, or just coasting. Glancing from the wheel to the cracked windshield, signaling when needed. For someone who shouldn’t even legally be behind the wheel, she was doing pretty well for herself.

I wanted to find something to critique, as if I was a driving instructor myself, but that assumed a level of experience I didn’t have. And she seemed to be doing a decent job. The ride was smooth, and she was aware of what was happening around her, checking her mirrors and blindspots. If she was skilled enough to race through the city, drifting and performing other stunts, then she was better than me.

It was a sight for sure.

D glanced to her side, and noticed me watching.

“Are you that impressed?” she asked.

“Can you blame me if I am?” I asked in return, my eyes still trained on her. “It’s something I’ve never seen before. Kind of like a magic trick.”

“Hah, kind of, if you wanna look at it that way. But I still think the whole ‘crushing a brick with your bare hands’ thing has me beat.”

“Mm,” I said, shifting my focus to the street ahead. The cracks in the glass had spread, but D was managing fine. If nothing else, I was more concerned over the van itself than D’s driving.

“So, what’s your deal?” D asked, her eyes to the road.

“My deal?”

“Don’t act like having superpowers is the most normal thing in the world. You had to get it from somewhere. So spill the beans. I wanna know.”

My memories on that day were of broad strokes. Like skipping through scenes of a movie I had already seen before. I got most of it, but I was glossing over the details.

A party. A walk. A barn. A girl.

And I didn’t really need to know more than that. The broad strokes were enough.

“Sorry,” I said. “But I’m not up for saying.”

D pouted.

“Aw, that’s no fair. But hey, you know, we just met. We can work up to that.”

As if, I thought.

Part of me wanted to get back at her the same way.

I asked, “And your deal is?”

“My deal?”

“Don’t act like being a thirteen year old van-stealing, delinquent drug dealer is some normal thing.”

“Hey, let’s get something straight. I’m not thirteen.”

“How old are you then?”

She grinned, and left it there.

If she was going to be like that, fine, I was being the same way. I could even make a decent guess from there, anyways.

But, damn, I really wanted to pin her down, have her figured out.

I continued a stream of questions.

“Where are your parents?”

I had already asked that, but she being smart with me before, and there were more pressing matters at hand. Now? D said we were early, so right now we had time.

And, like the last time I asked her, there was a moment’s pause.

“Didn’t I already give you a jokey answer? Wasn’t the bit funny enough the first time?”

Oh. That was harsh.

Definitely struck a nerve, there.

“Guess they’re not around,” I whispered, so she couldn’t hear me. It was probably the best assumption. D lived alone in that apartment, aside from Macy, but I could barely consider her a roommate. And if she did have parents that were around, they would have to be majorly fucked to let a child run free, doing…

My thoughts went to Shiori.

Point taken.

“You said you’re free to do whatever. I’m guessing you don’t have school to keep you busy during the day?”

“Nah,” she said, with more pep. “School’s for chumps. I learn by being outside, by doing. And if there’s anything super technical I want to know, I dunno, I can just grab a book, or something.”

I wouldn’t question her methods, considering they got her this far. She seemed more capable than any kid her age. Probably more capable than some adults.

“So you do this all day?” I asked.

D checked a mirror, and made a turn.

“Eh, not really. Before I picked up this gig, I was getting into a lot more trouble, just for the fun of it. That’s all well and good, but I learned pretty quickly you need some structure. This helps center me, keeps me busy, all the while giving me a chance for that sweet, sweet upward mobility.”

“You want structure, but no school?” I asked.

“Nope. It’s for chumps.” She took a hand off the wheel, pressing a button on the center console. Heavy metal music started playing, at an almost unreasonable level.

“Maybe I am still looking for trouble,” she said, barely registering over the noise.

The music played, and it put up enough of barrier to stop any more conversation, which was fine by me, I wasn’t here to soul-search with a little kid. My eyes drifted to the side, watching the streets go by. I found Hleuco in the skies, spinning and rolling through the air, zipping ahead, only to spiral around and do it again. His great wings pushed with a sense of strength. Power. Freedom.

It was a fantasy, but how could I be so envious?

It had been but a handful of days, but I was already drained from having to play Alexis Barnett. It was a role I had little enthusiasm towards, a mask I didn’t want to wear. Some of her connections were needed, like her experiences as Blank Face, but they came with trite, superfluous information. I didn’t need to know about how she got into volleyball, I didn’t care to know about the intimate details of her first kiss. But that was the draw, they came with the more useful bits.

And it is going to stack, dilute your thinking, until you’re a little less you, and a little more her.

I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to disappear.

It made having to find Benny all the more imperative. That was me, and me only. A goal I would see to the end, and not Alexis.

And what happens after we get Benny?

I didn’t know. Would I disappear? Like a robot, after it fulfilled its programming. Would I shut down, waiting further instructions?

I didn’t want that.

I couldn’t let myself be stuck to Alexis when I was done. Chained. To be shackled back in that apartment, haunted by phantoms of a past I wanted nothing to do with. To have bits of my mind chipped away, until my very self faded to a dark nothing. What would happen to me, then? Where would I go?

Pressing a finger to my chin, I fixed my mask.

No.

No no no.

I couldn’t let that happen to me. Couldn’t let that be my fate. I wasn’t going to let her win. I wasn’t going to let her connections tie me down.

Her friends weren’t mine, her family wasn’t mine, and I hated wasting the effort to pretend. I hated it, and I hated Alexis.

I wanted to be up there, with Hleuco. Free.

After Benny, then, shall we-

“Yo, here we be.”

D’s word provided a needed distraction. I looked through the broken glass ahead.

We were entering a parking garage, near a larger department store. Familiar, but I stopped my mind from going down that route. No more connections than were necessary.

There were other vehicles on the first floor, but none as D drove us up to the higher levels. We passed by the third, the fourth, then the fifth. As we reached the sixth, lights drew towards us.

D took her foot off the gas, steering us through the vans, people, and dogs.

The windows were tinted, they wouldn’t see us. But the eyes still put me on edge.

D positioned us so we parked in one of the few empty spots, the front of the van facing the gang. In a way, our backs were against the ropes, since the end of the parking spot was lined with metal cables, towards open air.

She put the van in park, and relayed the plan to me before I could get a voice in.

“Alright, you’re gonna have to stay in here and sit tight. I’ll handle all of this, and see what info I can squeeze out in the meantime. Just stay low, and we’ll be one and done before you know it.”

“This is a lot more people than I expected, and I’m not liking how cornered this is making me feel,” I said. “How do I know you’re not leading me into a trap, by leaving me in this van?”

She then reached across to my side, opening up the glove compartment. A black handgun made itself very well known.

“In case of trap, pull trigger,” she said.

She closed the compartment, and then she was out, leaving me inside the still-running van.

Fuck.

I had my suspicions of D, and while I was confident in myself and my own abilities, this was playing too close to the fire. I might recover from the burns, but I’d still have been burnt.

For just this moment, D had me stuck. I was forced to watch as she took things from here. A wary spectator.

D walked in front of the van, cutting through all the heavy beams of light. The dogs barked as soon as they laid eyes on her, their teeth snapping. Only held back by leashes, and the armed men holding them.

Some of the lights got cut, giving me a clearer view of the scene. D had her back to me, facing a man twice her size. The right side of his face was patched with bandages, the other I could tell was swollen. He’d seen some action, or at least, got his ass kicked.

His mouth moved, but I couldn’t catch the words. The dogs were too loud.

D gestured in response, but I had no way of picking up the meaning. She flipped open her jacket, showing him something, then she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, briefly turning around. I could have sworn she was looking right at me.

Fuck.

I took off my seatbelt, and tried to make myself smaller.

The man nodded, then shook his head. He raised his chin.

He howled.

“Enough!”

The dogs stopped barking. Some whimpered before they completely went quiet.

D and the man continued talking. I could hear them, now, but I couldn’t understand them.

Glancing to a button on my side of the door, I considered pushing it, cracking the window open.

My entire body tensed as I moved my hand, a finger hovering over the button.

Teeth gritting together, I barely gave it so much as a tap.

“-very lucky that I’m letting you walk away without a fuckin’ scratch.”

“Lucky? Please, L-Boy, you’re not going to last if you don’t have a stream of revenue, and no one in this town is willing to do business with you. Well, no one except me. You should be considering yourselves lucky.”

There. I had an ear in the conversation. It was faint at best, but it was something.

“You’re just doing this to spite me,” the man said. “To rub salt in the wounds you caused.”

“Yeah, so?”

“You’re such a heartless bitch.”

D brought her hands behind her back, and tapped her foot on the ground.

“Aw,” she said, tapping her foot again. “I like the sweet talk, Lawrence, but it’s not sweet enough. Just having me work with you is best deal you’re gonna get. The price stays.”

“Yeah yeah, you heartless bitch.” The man, Lawrence, took a step to pass D, and she moved, walking with him. “You really got this stuff from him?”

They were coming towards the van. Towards me.

All night, I had been keeping a mental note of where my knife was, at all times. Now, I made of note of the gun in the glove compartment.

‘In case of trap,’ she said.

“Who else am I gonna get it from?” D replied.

“But you understand why I’m hesitating, even when I’m desperate. If you stole shipment from-”

“Relax, it’s gonna be fine. He’s not even really going to miss it. It’s from an older stash, meaning the quality isn’t the best-”

D murmured that last part.

“-and there isn’t much. But, you said it yourself, you’re desperate. So you’ll take what you can get, and you and your Ghosts can go on to haunt for another day.”

“Stop. I’m tired of finding reasons to call you a heartless bitch. Just let me and my boys walk with some dignity.”

I lost sight of them as they came around to the driver’s side. I ducked even lower. Ready, if this really was a set up.

The door slid open. Not the driver’s door.

“Too late for that, L-Boy. Here’s everything, you can-”

I heard a commotion.

Grunts, a startled shout, a thud of metal on flesh. The sounds of a struggle.

Some dogs started barking again.

Before I could make sense of what was happening, D reappeared from the back row, jumping into the space between the driver’s seat and the wheel.

Every dog was gnarling and gnashing teeth.

“What did you-” I started, but D once again cut me off.

“Crap, crap, mission abort,” she said, clutching the gear knob. “Either you buckle in, or you find us another way out of this.”

And then she pulled on the gear knob, and she stomped.

The van jerked, then flung.

But not forward.

Backward.

The van accelerated backwards, and immediately hit the metal cables. But we were going at a decent speed, and the cables already looked weak, unattended to.

Looks weren’t deceiving, in the case.

I heard them snap. The van continued.

She’s sending us off the edge of the building.

I turned to D, her hands still on the gear, her foot still planted down flat.

No words. My body just moved on its own.

D had curled herself into a ball around the gear, protecting it with her body.

I thrusted out my hand, squeezing it between her and the gear. I found her chest. I shoved.

D was practically lifted into the air, the gear shifting and her foot taken off the gas. As she came back down, she covered her head, to not hit the wheel. Her small body fell into the space where the driver was supposed to put their legs.

But the van kept moving. Toppling.

I felt us tipping back.

We were going to fall.

No.

Had to do something.

My body moved on its own, again. No thoughts, just action.

I pushed myself up, my hands on the seat itself, my feet on the back part. I lifted my head to see the window.

It was cracked. Could I break through it with a strong enough impact?

Maybe, potentially.

The gun. Could I use it to give me an opening?

As if in response, the van swayed back, and I felt my stomach leap.

No time for that option.

I steeled myself.

Using the back of the seat as a platform, I sprang from the seat. My arms over my head, bracing for the shattering of glass.

I heard it, I felt it.

Glass shattered all around me. The sounds of glass, barking, and shouting.

I felt the open air, the rush as I knew I had to continue to work, and work fast.

The van and I moved in opposite directions, all at the same time. It made it easier for me to get over the hood.

Hard, my landing on solid cement. I landed, but I didn’t collapse. I didn’t let myself.

I sprung back up, turning around. I went straight to the van. I could see the underside of the thing, already.

Throwing out both hands, I scrambled for a hold underneath the grill of the van. It was the only place I could get a good grip.

I had to dive to get that grip.

Got it.

I grabbed a hold of the van, but now I was moving with it, too. It’d bring me over with it, if I didn’t do anything else.

My hands still in place, I pushed my body up, using my hips. I went a bit into the air, and I used that to throw my legs and feet under me, getting some footing.

I got it, but I was still sliding, inching forward.

I needed to get us to stop.

Planting my feet down as hard as I could, I tried pulling the van towards me, all the while pushing the vehicle down. If I could get the damn thing down flat, it might save me some trouble.

Not much progress in that regard. Cement moved from under me.

My muscles in my arms hurt, my legs screaming in pain. I already went through the wringer, earlier in the night, with this very same van. With the very same person behind the reason why.

I couldn’t take much more.

But I kept pulling, even if every second made the effort harder. More in vain. I kept on.

I screamed, as if that would accomplish anything.

I tossed my head back, trying to pull more. More of the same.

Through squinted, sweat-soaked eyes, I saw something.

A pillar dividing one section of the floor to the next. Between two parking spaces. As I was sliding, I was passing it, getting closer.

I could reach it. But…

We can’t reach the far end of it for a hold. Too far.

That couldn’t stop me. The next best thing, then.

Which, really, was an absolutely terrible idea.

Which shows just how fucked I was. If the the next best thing was a terrible idea.

I took a hand off the van. The closer one. The left.

I punched the cement pillar.

I wasn’t sure what broke first. My hand, or the cement.

But I got a hold.

I had made a hole in the pillar, but my fist stayed inside. About half of my forearm was within the thing.

An intense, blinding pressure. A tug, all focusing onto my elbow.

My arm went taut.

An anchor.

And I used it to keep myself in place, with the van in hand.

I screamed, not because it helped, but because it hurt so fucking god damn much.

The weight of the van tore at me, threatening to separate me from my arm. It was probably even feasible.

My head was about to be split open, my eyes about to burst out of their sockets.

Hold out for a bit more.

Easier said than done.

My fingers on one hand dug into metal, and there was no feeling in the fingers of the other. Just pressure from that elbow, up to the rest of my arm, my shoulder, then my whole fucking body.

Metal kept digging, and in turn, I kept pulling.

Something was bound to break. Probably me.

D said there was a lead to Benny, here. Let this go, and I’d lose everything. I had to salvage this somehow.

With my last remaining strength, I drew my arm back, and as hard as I could possibly manage.

I felt it bend.

My arm was moving. My grip on the van.

Perhaps negligible, but there. I felt it.

And it seemed to be enough.

The van creeped, bit by bit, away from the drop, its metal belly scratching the cement edges.

Come here, come here, dammit.

Tiny, but usable centimeters of progress, but I could only do so much, like this. I did have a breaking point. Someone else was going to have to pick up my slack.

I screamed again. But there was a purpose in my tone. Not just raw expression. A calling.

The sound of movement, the shuffling of feet. Shouts.

A man came running to the van, stopping right where I was. He had a length of chain in one hand, extending somewhere behind us.

He searched around for something he could do, somewhere to apply the chain. Couldn’t help him there. I didn’t have the voice.

He bent down, working the chain under the van, right by my hand. He figured it out himself.

The man worked fast, he was already up and running away. Another person took his place. A female, with chains of her own. She was about as fast as the first guy, tying the chain somewhere underneath the grill. She was up and out in a flash.

I watched, the chains slowly lifting off the ground. Getting tight.

The chains stretched into straight, parallel lines, and then the van started moving forward.

To me.

There was a transfer of power going on, between me and the chains. The van moved, and I felt the pressure on my body lessen. The metal dug into my fingers a little less, my arm in the cement pillar getting a little looser. The strain on my body was easing up.

Which gave room for the pain to sweep in and make itself known.

The soreness, the throbbing. It hit my whole being. As if stretching a rubber band as far as possible without breaking it, when the pressure was alleviated, the band was left loose and flaccid.

I felt like rubber. Stretched-out. No cuts, I wasn’t bleeding, but I was still hurting. The healing process started, but it was within me. Reconnecting muscles and joints. Making them firm again. Feeling things worm inside me.

I almost lost enough of my senses to laugh. Of all the things I inherited from Alexis, it just had to be her penchant for self-abuse.

Fuck you, Alexis.

Fuck you.

The van moved some more, the grill pressing into my chest and face. Moving me along with it, but I was still elbow-deep into the cement pillar.

I waited a bit, the van pushing me more. Positioning myself.

When I found myself at a decent position, I yanked my arm out of the pillar. It fell beside me, and I fell onto my back.

I couldn’t get a good look at my arm, but I could guess how mangled it had become. The van kept moving, rolling over me. I was small, I didn’t get run over.

I was breathing hard when the van was secured, people moving about. I needed to be present.

The desire to stay down and mope in the pain, I pushed it aside.

I forced myself up, propping myself up with my okay arm.

My healing was working all this time, and I was feeling somewhat better by the time I was on my two feet. I checked the arm I used to hit the pillar. The jacket sleeve was still decently intact, but the glove was tattered. My fist looked compact, more like a ball of flesh and bone than separate digits and parts.

I hitched in my breathing at seeing that, and I put my arm down. It’d heal, in time. I just didn’t want to look at it anymore.

Shit. After the first accident earlier tonight, I could have went another night without needing to feed. Now, I had to get something to drink before I returned to the apartment.

It’s fine. You’ll find something.

I’d better.

Arms at my side, I approached the van. Every door was wide open, with teddy bears spilling out. Some of the dogs were tearing them up, fighting each other for their own to chew up. One was licking a man by the cheek. A bandaged cheek. He was sitting on the ground, a distance away from the van. Rattled.

Their boss? He was in the van, too?

Other dogs noticed me, and went to barking.

It brought the gang’s attention to me.

I already had my arms up before it was a solid thought in my head. Even the bad arm, or the one that was more worse off.

“None of the macho stuff,” I said. “I think I just saved your boss. Let’s call it a truce, and we can settle this with words.”

The gang members looked among each other. They turned to me, all nodding. They tugged at their hounds, getting them to zip it.

Good. They weren’t stupid.

D collapsed out of the van, heaving for air. She stayed on her back. She had the handgun, clutched to her chest.

One of the gang members closed in on her, weapons ready. She immediately brought her gun up, but she was pointing more to the ceiling than anyone here. Her arms were too stiff, if she had any intention of pulling that trigger.

“Get away! Back off! It’s Lawrence’s fault, he tried to short me! You don’t freaking cheat me! You can’t!”

“I know, I knew what I was doing. The next building over was only two levels lower. I woulda made it, I would have.”

As she fell over her words, Hleuco came to my side. Browsing the scene, he squawked at the few dogs that couldn’t keep calm.

She’s as crazy as the rest of us.

“Can you get up, or do you need help?” I asked.

“I’ve got it,” she replied, but she soon shook her head. “No, can you? Please help?”

She dropped one arm to her chest, along with the gun. She extended a small hand my way.

I took her hand, using my worse one. My healing really did wonders for me.

I helped her up, while checking my surroundings. And we were surrounded.

All hostiles, with only a temporary, shaky truce keeping them back. I had to maneuver through this – through them – carefully, if I wanted to be able to walk away with no further harm done.

Coming around the front part of the van, I saw the man D was talking with. Lawrence. One of his men was helping him, getting him to stand. He managed, but he still had to rely on his lackey.

Much like this parking garage, he seemed familiar.

It made me realize I was still holding D’s hand. I let go, and heard a faint whimper.

I walked to him, Hleuco coming with. The gang members reacted, and as if by routine, I raised my hands.

The truce remained.

“Lawrence,” I said, voice raised. “You tried to sabotage the only good thing going for you and your gang. Why?”

I made it a point to phrase it like that, to get everyone up to speed, while making Lawrence out to be the offended. It might shake his gang’s faith in him. Anything to get an edge in this.

“I didn’t sabotage shit, she was the one constantly talking shit. You don’t know her like I do, this has been going on so fucking long. From pranks and shit, and when El Carruaje disbanded, she kept going, after me.”

“Because you make it too fun,” D said. She moved behind me, holding my jacket.

“Shut up! She fucked with me when I tried to build up the Ghosts, and now I have to buy from her if I want my boys to continue holding a presence in the city. I swear she planned out this whole damn thing from the beginning.”

“Not now,” I told D, pushing her back with my arm. I returned to Lawrence. “And you wanted to get back at her? At a little girl?”

“I’ll do what I can to survive, I’ll bite that bullet. But if I one up her, then sure, fuck it. I just didn’t expect…”

I filled in the blank for him. “Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

I scanned the people around, and looked back to Lawrence. “Your gang’s on the skids, and you put everyone at risk by trying to pick a fight with a girl half your size. And you still lost, you would have died if I wasn’t there to do something about it. Tell me, was it worth it?”

I didn’t intend for the question to hang, but Lawrence let it, not answering for a good minute. But his silence was saying a lot for the others. Exchanging looks, lowered weapons, an overall down disposition. Even the gang member Lawrence was holding onto shifted, almost as if he was trying to pull away from him. Doing the minimal effort required to keep him up.

“You’re not a gang,” I continued, “You’re scavengers, picking up whatever scraps possible, hoping to see the next day, and you fucked up the last bit of scraps you’re ever going to get. Let that sink in.”

I reiterated the same point for effect. It did sink in. Lawrence dropped his head, and everyone else in his gang felt that. They were all in this together, and they were struggling. I didn’t have any knowledge of the Ghosts before this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone gathered was all the gang had to offer.

“But,” I said, “There is a way to turn it around. There is someone you should direct your anger to.”

All eyes were on me.

“Benny,” I said.

Lawrence lifted his head, eyeing me. “Benny?”

“Yes. You were part of her old gang, were you not? But after her plans failed, the one that necessitated all those weapons, The Chariot fell apart, and you, Lawrence, tried to pick up the pieces for yourself. To scavenge.”

“So what if I did?” he asked.

“It would have worked, for a time, if Benny didn’t decide to shoot up a school.”

Various looks from all around. Mostly concern.

“She did do it,” Lawrence said.

“Yes, she did, and that’s probably a reason why the Ghosts are losing traction in the city. No one wants to associate with someone with too much dirt on their hands, even with a few degrees removed. Shit sticks, and then it spreads.”

“Okay? What does that have to do with us?”

“It has everything to do with you. Benny slipped away, but she’s still in the city. There’s a nice prize for her head. Find her, and you might be in a better standing. Your gang earns a seat at the table.”

Lawrence glared at me, a puzzled expression.

“Why are you suggesting this to us?”

His question gave me pause.

Why was I suggesting this? Benny was mine, but I was telling a branch of her old gang to go after her.

Because I couldn’t do this myself, because it was something Alexis would have never resorted to.

Because it would be a nail in her coffin.

And we need all the nails we can get.

Glancing at Hleuco, I found the confidence I needed to say my next piece.

Drifting around corners, racing down streets like a professional. Like a madman, honestly.

I kept staring at her, but it was becoming more and more implausible.

She was short, young, definitely not the legal age to even hold a permit. Short, brown bob cut, disheveled from the van’s sudden stop. Pale skin, indigo eyes. A white sweater with a bomber jacket on top, three sizes too big. The jacket matched with her skirt, leather and black. Black boots. The choker around her neck threw me for even more of a loop.

For a getaway driver, she was pretty well coordinated.

But that was neither here nor there.

Just her being here raised so many questions.

I regained enough of my senses to ask the most pressing one.

“Where are your parents?”

The girl made a face, as if the most reasonable question to ask was instead the most stupid.

“Mind if I lie to you? I’m not up for giving you a proper explanation. I’d rather make it up.”

Flabbergasted couldn’t even begin to describe it.

This was it, right? Thomas’s van? I couldn’t have done this whole chase across the city just to find some stuffed animals… and her. Did I have it right, or was this some elaborate prank?

I had enough sense to ask something else, instead.

“Where’d you find this van? Did you get it back at the factory?”

“What if I did?”

She had a subtle lisp, I noticed. Probably from that missing tooth. She whistled when she talked.

But she still sounded like a child. High-pitched and grating. It annoyed.

She really was just a kid.

I gave her a pointed look.

“It’s not good to take things that aren’t yours, kid. Didn’t your parents ever teach you any common sense?”

She made another face, complete with that sneer from before. “They taught me plenty, thank you very much.”

I noted the past tense, but I didn’t comment.

A honk, and I moved my head. Claire’s taxi was approaching, coming up beside me.

She brought down her window.

“Hey!”

She didn’t sound very happy.

“Claire,” I said, but I didn’t know how to go about handling her. My mind was preoccupied with another matter, and my body was doing its own thing.

I was sore, and my healing wasn’t done doing its rounds. Bones creaked as they joined together, a strange, welcoming numbness soothed me into a better condition.

My clothes didn’t have the same ability, however. My windbreaker weathered a few rips in some places, and I was a few steps away from becoming soleless.

Your shoes, you mean.

Yeah.

“One second,” was all I could tell Claire. For the moment.

I looked back at the girl.

“I’m not through with you, but we have to take this somewhere else. Can’t have cops interrupting us. Do you have any place we can go?”

I backed up to close the driver’s side door, and turned to address Claire.

“My taxi’s-” she started, but I spoke over her.

“I’m really sorry about… this, but she’s going to have to take precedence,” I said. “We’re heading somewhere else to have a proper discussion.”

“Where?”

“Don’t know, but you’re free to come along. And after I’m through with her, we can figure something out, between the two of us. Sound okay to you?”

Claire put the taxi in reverse, presumably to get a better look at the girl.

“Yo!” the girl said.

Then, Claire gave me a pointed look.

“Her?”

“Yeah. It’s… strangely complicated.”

Claire shook her head.

“Whatever. I’m coming.”

I nodded. “Alright. See you in a bit.”

I was in a hurry, now, moving back to the van, sliding the passenger door open. More stuffed bears fell out onto the street.

“Hey, I need those!” the girl whined. “And what are you doing?”

I picked up the bears, throwing them back inside. I closed the door.

“I’m making sure you don’t cause any more trouble,” I said. “Go.”

—

This place was a shithole.

The building smelled of must, and it was warm. The recent rain seeped into cracks and holes, dripping from the ceiling and soaking the tiled floor, making the air sticky. Moist. It would be very easy to slip and fall into one of the many bags of trash or litter accumulating the different floors.

This place was an apartment complex. People lived here.

The girl led the way, taking us into one of the apartments. Based on the numbers of the doors around us, this was apartment 414, but the ‘1’ was scratched out, the grooves in the door making a ‘0’ instead.

“I’m back,” the girl called out, as all of us filtered inside. No one answered.

The lights were already on, but they were low, not running on full capacity. Everything was cast in a burnt orange hue.

Looking around, the apartment might as well have been ransacked. Nothing of even potentially sentimental value was anywhere to be found. Just boxes, stacked together and kept out of the way. There was a single bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom, and only a couch here in the living room. The doors were closed, I could only imagine what was being hidden behind those doors, considering how seedy this place was.

The air was humid in here, too, the smell masked only by an air freshener plugged in the corner. It smelled of lavender.

Cracks in the wall, the floor creaking with every step. Smaller, secluded holes in corners that suggested other, four-legged tenants.

This girl lived here, didn’t she?

No shit, but it was still a hard pill to swallow. Who would subject themselves to these living conditions?

“Welcome to my humble abode,” the girl said, falling into the couch, by a bundle of blankets. The bundle squirmed.

“Humble doesn’t even begin to put it into words,” I said.

“Well, originally, it was gonna be renovated and cleaned up, you know, gentrification, but the tenants had something to say about that. With the help of some local gangs, they drove out the company in charge, and the city hasn’t really cared to do anything about it, after the fact. Of course, they scared off everyone whose job it was to clean this dump, and it’s been running itself into the ground ever since. Eating itself alive.”

“And you chose to live here?”

The girl shrugged. “I dunno, I needed a quick and easy place to crash. I just came back into the city.”

“You mean you’re by yourself? Alone?”

Claire got a word in before I could. But she was speaking for the both of us, there.

“I’m not alone, I’ve got Macy.”

A hard tug, and the girl threw the blanket off the couch, revealing a woman laying there, curled up. She wasn’t moving, but she was breathing, looking more unconscious than asleep.

Claire, for her part, took several steps back.

“Ah, damn, I told you to lay off the stuff already,” the girl said, leaning over Macy and swatting at her hand. “One more hit like that and you’re donezo.”

Macy reacted, twitching, yet delayed. Her hands opened, and a needle slipped between her fingers, onto the floor.

Claire took another step back.

“Is that…” she started to ask.

“Huh? Oh, nah, she was already here when I moved in, but I don’t think she’s noticed.”

“How could-”

“Wait, hold on.”

I had to stop Claire, or we’d end up going nowhere. I lifted my hands, a signal to move to a different topic.

“I came up with a whole list of questions to ask on the way here, just so I can get it down all at once, and not forget anything. This might be pressing by itself, but there are more important things I want to get to.”

While I was talking, the girl was pulling the blanket over Macy again, fixing it so her face wasn’t obscured. When she finished, she fell back into the couch.

“Sure, ask away. You did catch me, after all, so I guess you deserve a prize.”

From behind my mask, I gave her a pointed look. Even though her biological parents weren’t seemingly around, she was in desperate need of some serious guidance, and counseling.

“First off, a name.”

She sneered.

“You first, O’ Masked One.”

I bit my lip.

I was in need of some blood, soon. I could drain her dry right here, and no one would miss her.

I looked at Claire, but she averted her eyes. Looking at her made me realize it was the first time I’d ever had a clear view of her.

Shoulder length hair, red, tied back. White shirt and jeans. Pushing thirty, if not there already. The creases in her forehead aged her.

She would have been pretty, in another, less stressful life.

My eyes went back to the girl.

“You know who I am, or who I used to be.”

The girl crossed her arms.

“Say. It.”

I tapped my side, making sure my knife was still there.

“The Bluemoon.”

She grinned, showing the gap in the upper row of her teeth.

“How super, the hero in the flesh. Emphasis on super.” She then eyed me. Up, then down.

“Not gonna lie, I thought you were a boy.”

I nearly rolled my eyes. She would have seen if I did that.

“I thought the same thing, too.”

I saw Claire, hands in her pockets. She sounded guilty.

I fixed my hood, setting it more evenly on my head. “Sorry for not choosing something more revealing, or skin-tight. I went for something neutral, people made their assumptions and I didn’t feel the need to correct them. Truth be told, it’s probably been a more effective disguise than any mask I’ve worn.”

But that disguise is gone now. Benny blew it wide open. Now everyone knows that the Bluemoon is a girl, of some Asian ethnicity.

I felt the anger flow within, continuing to shift me. Like magma, under plates of earth.

“That doesn’t matter, not anymore. I’m not here as the Bluemoon, and I’m not quite sure if I’m even here as a hero.”

I was more than a touch annoyed, but not enough to make a big fuss over it.

“That’s fine, I suppose,” I said. “But now it’s your turn.”

“Right. Okay, if we’re going by code names, then you can call me ‘D.’”

“Dee?”

“Like the letter. D as in ‘deepthroat.’”

Again, I tapped my side.

The girl, Dee – no, D – laughed, the sort of laugh that was unrestrained, uncaring of public decency.

Full of surprises, she was.

D settled down, and cleared her throat.

“Alright, what else you got?” she asked.

Now she was the one asking questions.

I decided to roll with it.

“The van. You stole it from that factory, did you not?”

“That’s a pretty strong word, but sure. I needed a way around, and I happened upon it. If it’s any consolation, I’ve been good about parking it there whenever I’m done with it, and I gas it up every time.”

“Barely a consolation,” I commented. “But the van isn’t my main priority, actually, though it is useful. There was equipment in there I was looking for. Police scanners, radios, laptops. I didn’t see any of it when I rode with you here.”

“Oh, all that junk? I needed the space, and some cash, so I pawned it.”

I crossed the living room.

I grabbed her at the collar, and threw her onto the wall behind her. I kept her up there.

Claire yelped at how sudden I was.

“You fucking didn’t,” I said, my patience with her having thinned away to nothingness. Young, old, it didn’t matter. I’d break them if they deserved it.

D hardly reacted or panicked. Her arms stayed by her sides. Her vulpine sneer returned.

“I freaking did. I saw an opportunity, and I took it. I was short on cash when I came back, and anything helps when trying to get back on your feet, yeah? Can’t blame me for trying to feed myself a little.”

I made a sound, nearing a growl, and I dropped her. D fell onto the couch, landing on top of Macy. I walked back to where I had been standing before.

I was seething. Barely restrained.

All that work, that whole rabbit chase, and it led to nothing. I was still empty-handed. Nothing to show for all that effort.

I tired of this, spinning my wheels and going nowhere. I craved progress, even more than I craved blood.

I tried looking around for Hleuco, but then I realized he hadn’t come in with us. I would have imagined him wanting to come through the window, but the ones here were boarded up. Unless he didn’t want to show himself if I moved my head elsewhere, I was by myself.

Standing still, I gave myself a moment to cool off, shifting my weight from foot to foot.

“Look, girls, I’m just a cab driver. I purposely put myself in the dark about this stuff so I can try and sleep at night while making some decent money for my own girls. I don’t know why the literal actual superhero is looking for police scanner shit, and I don’t know why you… are whoever you are. My taxi got fucked in that chase, and my shift ends in an hour. How am I supposed to explain that to my real boss when I take it back in?”

D grumbled, getting up from the couch, towards one of the stacks of boxes. She moved them, opening one from the middle of the stack.

She pulled out a teddy bear. And a sizable stack of cash.

Across the room, she tossed them to Claire. She caught them both.

“Do you know Patrick, over at Pecan? The Ferryman.”

Claire answered, holding the bear out in front of her. It didn’t look particularly dirty.

“I’ve passed there a few times,” she answered.

“Give that bear to him, and tell him I send my regards. He should give you a good enough patch-up job. Nothing crazy, but it’ll do. The cash should be enough to cover your ‘detour’ for the night.”

Claire held the bear away from her even more. “Is there something in here?”

She looked to me, and my head had cleared up some more. I was ready to get back into this conversation.

“Yeah?” I said.

“I have to leave now if I want to get everything back in working order and clock out on time. If I hurry, I can drop you off somewhere, but it’d have to be along the way.”

Taking a breath, I placed a hand on my hip.

“You can go, I still have unfinished business here. I’ll manage getting back.”

I wasn’t expecting this night to go down the way it was going, considering I was expecting Gomez to be my go-to option, but with D being here, I wanted to get a grip on what she was about.

Claire nodded, curt. “If that’s okay with you, then I’ll be going. And if you ever need a lift in the future, boss, you have my number. I promise I won’t run the meter.”

Not surprised, but pleased.

“That means a lot, Claire, thank you. Again, sorry about the-”

She stopped me with a gesture, lifting the bear. Then, she went to leave the apartment.

The door closed with a heavy clunk, and it was just me and the girl. D.

Well, there was Macy, but she wasn’t so much here as she was… there.

I turned, facing D again. She had returned to the couch, her legs crossed, with an expectant expression.

This fucking girl…

No, she was more like a character.

“And I’m not done with you,” I told her.

“I’d be disappointed if you were.”

“Those scanners would have been really helpful. The police have got eyes and ears everywhere, and I’d-”

“Puh-lease,” she said, interjecting. “That old junk’s worthless, they can’t pick up even half the channels the cops use nowadays, and what they can pick up, the signal’s shoddy at best. They’re outdated, even paperweights make fun of them. If you want something better than that, I’m your girl. I can out-scan any pleb-tier gadget that Señor Gomez has.”

I took a step to her.

“Wait, ‘Gomez?’ As in James Gomez, Chief of Police?”

D snapped her fingers. “Yeah yeah, him.”

“You know him?”

She glanced to the corner of the couch. “I’ve had some run-ins with him, in the past.”

Another surprise. It was getting harder to keep up.

“Do you know where I can get another scanner?” I asked.

D grumbled, and then her hands went into her lap.

“Scanner this, scanner that, blah blah blah. What do you even want to do with those things, anyway? They’re not even very fun to play with. If you want a toy so bad I’ve got a spare tablet I picked up-”

“Because I’m looking for someone.”

She stopped for a second, and then looked very interested. Curious.

“Who?”

I sighed. No harm in telling her.

“Benny, from The Chariot.”

D lifted an eyebrow.

“Oof, if I had dollar for every time I heard that name.”

I approached her again, at a pace that was inhuman. D reacted, putting her feet up on the couch, pressing her back to the wall.

Even Macy stirred.

“Don’t tell me you know her, too,” I said. “You know where she is?”

I was cornering her, throwing her off. I had enough of her attitude. Too smug for her own good, and for her age.

I put my foot on the couch, raising my head to look at her. I questioned her again. “Do you know where she is?”

D brought up her hands, her palms facing me. “Whoa whoa, I’m not saying that at all! I just meant I’ve heard people mentioning her ever since I came back. Like with Gomez, I’ve run into her and her gang, but they were still nobodies last time I checked. Now? It’s like she’s the hottest thing on the block. It’s strange.”

“It’s not strange. Everyone’s after Benny, and I have to beat them to it. She’s in hiding, biding her time until she can leave the city. But I’m not going to let her have that chance, she’s not getting out of this alive.”

The expression on D’s face changed, taking in everything. The corners of her mouth folded upward.

“Oh ho? I like the sound of that.”

She shifted, standing on a couch cushion, her hands on her hips. She leaned towards me, seeing me at eye level.

“I was afraid that you were going to turn out to be boring. But you’re already bringing the party to me. I’m in.”

The hell is she rambling about?

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“I mean exactly that. I want to help. Wait, not want, I will help you.”

I frowned, but my mask’s expression was blank.

“You? You’re going to help me?”

Her smile widened.

“Of course. I know these streets like the back of my hand. Other kids my age couldn’t even walk down the street without their heads in their phones, telling them where to go.”

“That’s not the part I’m questioning,” I said.

D restated her point, “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be your eyes and ears, even your personal bodyguard, if it has to come to that.”

I huffed, a light scoff. “Highly doubt it’ll get to that point.”

D rolled her eyes. “Fine, but I’m still a good piece to have on the board. You could stand to have me by your side.”

“Hm, and what piece would you be, should I decide to put you on this metaphorical board?”

I saw careful thought cross D’s face, taking her time.

After some deliberation, she answered.

“The bishop.”

Speaking for myself, I’d never played chess. And, gathering from what connections and memories I decided to take, neither had Alexis.

But that wasn’t the main focal point, here. Was this girl actually going to be of any use? She seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about Stephenville and its underground, and she probably knew more than I ever did. My ventures into that world usually took place in the night, and I had a clean bed to come home to. This girl lived in that world. It was the ugly reality she faced each and every day.

And she faced it with a smug, irritating sneer.

Oddly inspiring, I had to admit.

But there was another point to consider.

“How do I know that I can trust you?”

I decided to ask, rather than speculate in my own head.

D seemed to be taken aback, stumbling on the couch. She straightened herself, and her back.

“Of, of course you can trust me. I mean it when I say I will help you. It’s just a matter of whether or not you want it.”

Talking around my question. She wasn’t being entirely convincing.

“Alright, how about this? Why should I let you help me?”

“Because you don’t have any leads, and you don’t have a lot of time. I can get you both. You wear a mask, and that tells me that you have some other life you need to attend to. Me? I’m out there, all day, every day, by myself, and no one bats an eye. I’m free to do whatever. During the day, I can ask around, discreetly, and see what I can come up with. And that saves you time to properly prepare, and you can do the whole superhero schtick, and give the bad guys exactly what they deserve.”

I saw into her eyes, and I knew she meant every word. She was being serious.

It was a look I’d seen before. But exactly when or where or who was unclear. Vague, like a foggy memory, getting more distorted the more I tried to reconnect. It wasn’t worth the resulting headache.

Maybe she really would be of use? My options were limited, no thanks to her, but she did have a point about accessibility. I was still chained to the name of ‘Alexis,’ and someone like Gomez was chained in a similar way, by the law, as perverted as it was. Even Claire had other responsibilities, I couldn’t expect her to be at my constant beck and call. D didn’t seem to be tied by those restrictions. As she put it, she was free to do whatever.

‘D’ for ‘different,’ I suppose.

By and large, an extra pair of eyes and ears wasn’t a bad idea. It just had to be her eyes and ears, though.

If she ever proves to be an issue, we can dispose of her easily. A resource for blood.

Even I had my reservations about that idea.

I broke eye contact with her, and gave her some space. She got down from the couch.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” I told her. “You’re… an anomaly, but in the grand scheme of everything, so am I. I’m willing to give us a shot, if you’re really as good as you think you are.”

D clasped her hands together, doing a small hop in celebration. “Yes! This is going to be so fun!”

“But,” I said, cutting her short. I let the word hang. “If you give me a reason to doubt you, for even just a second, I will kill you.”

I didn’t mean that last part, but it was over-the-top enough to drive the point home.

D didn’t seem very bothered by that threat. “Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me. Double fun!”

I heard a soft rumble, and D patted her jacket, then slipped her hand into a pocket. She took out a cell phone. It looked new, better than any phone I, or Alexis, had ever owned.

“And will you look at that, great timing. Hey, do you have anywhere else you need to be right now? Or better yet, when does your whole superhero shift end?”

I thought about Shiori, sleeping in the smaller of the two bedrooms in the apartment. Come morning, she’d wake up, get ready for work, then leave without ever checking on me or my room. She gave Alexis her space in the mornings, something I was more than happy to capitalize on.

“It ends when I get my hands on Benny,” I replied. “Why?”

“Because, I was originally on my way to park your van and call it a night, though you kinda got in the way of that. But, I did have a job I was saving until morning, might as well take care of it now, since I still have the van with me. So my real question is, do you want to come along?”

“Why should I?”

D grinned.

“If it all goes well, we might have a clear lead on Benny. Instead of asking you to trust me, I’ll prove it.”

I watched as the little girl puffed out her chest, even though there wasn’t anything to puff out. It would have been endearing, if it hadn’t come from her.

A piece on the board, begging to be played. I just hoped it was the right move.